Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Making Musical Instruments
To make a plastic drum.
Materials:
A rubber band, a pen, a sheet of plastic and a plastic
bowl.
Method:
1) Fit the plastic over the bowl.
2) Pull the plastic tight and secure it with a rubber
band
3) Grip the plastic firmly to stretch it smoothly across
the bowl.
4) Strike it with the pen and out comes the sound of a
drum.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
To make some Shakers
Materials:
A scissors, a plastic bottle, paper clips (or other
materials that will make a good sound when you shake –
for example, dried peas or beans, lentils etc) and
coloured tape.
Method:
1) Put a few paper clips into the bottle.
2) Screw the cap firmly.
3) Hold the bottle and shake it to and fro. The
paperclips strike the sides of the bottle to give a
rattling sound.
4) Collect other small objects and make more shakers
with them. They all give different sounds. Decorate
your shakers with strips of coloured tape or stickers
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
To make a Rubber Guitar.
Materials:
Rubber bands of varying thicknesses, colouring pens, a
baking tin.
Method:
1)Stretch the rubber bands across the tin.
2) Pluck the bands to hear what sort of sound they
make. It’s rather dull.
3) Now put a pen underneath the rubber bands at each
end of the tin.
4) Pluck the bands again. The sound is much clearer
than it was before.
5) Press the third pen on the bands.
6) Slide it up and down as you pluck the bands. The
pitch of the notes will change.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
To make Bottle Pipes.
Materials:
Food colouring or ink, a jug of water, narrow necked
glass bottles.
Method:
1) Set out the bottle in a line. You will need six or more
bottles to make a tune.
2) Pour a different amount of water into each bottle.
3) You can colour the water to make the levels easier
to see, and to make the bottles look more attractive.
4) Blow gently across the top of each bottle. Each one
makes a different musical note.
5) You can try changing the water levels to get notes
that make a tune.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To make a hydrophone and to examine
whether or not sound waves can travel under water.
Materials:
A plastic 2 litre bottle, a basin, water, two rocks,
scissors, a friend.
Method:
What you have to doCut off the base of the plastic bottle.
Fill the basin with water, but not to the top.
Place the plastic bottle into the water.
Put your ear to the top of the bottle.
Ask your friend to bang two stones together under the
water, near the bottle.
Repeat the experiment above the water.
Results:
Did you discover what we did?
Can sound waves travel through water?
Through which does sound travel better, air or water?
Conclusion:
What did you discover?
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Make a Model Ear!
Experiment: To examine how the ear works by making
a model ear!
Materials: a pen, an elastic band, scissors, glue, double
sided tape, a table tennis ball, card, a bendable
drinking straw, a transparent bowl, water, detachable
cake tin sides, card with a grid of squares drawn on it.
Method:
Draw a rectangle with two slits on the thick card.
Draw around half of the cake tin.
Carefully cut out the shape you have drawn.
Repeat steps 1-3.
Cut out two rectangles of card, each with two slits at
either end of the top edges.
Join all the card pieces at the slits. This is the stand
that your “ear” rests on.
Put a large piece of cling film over one end of the tin.
Hold it in place with the elastic band, and make sure
that it is stretched tight.
Cut a large triangle of thin card, with a flap along half
of the long edge.
Fold the triangle in two.
Dab glue on the flap.
Glue one end of the straw to the inside of the triangle.
Slit the other end of the straw.
Stick the table tennis ball to the straw with sticky
tape and attach the triangle to the cling film.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Make sure that the end of the straw is at the center
of the circle.
Place the tin on its stand, so the ball just dips into the
water in the bowl.
Put the grid card below the bowl to make it easier to
see the ripples in the water.
Make lots of different sounds behind the drum and
watch the eaters surface.
Results:
Do different sounds make different ripples?
Can you identify the different parts of the ear?
Conclusions:
Why do you think this is happening?
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To examine sound waves as they travel
through the air
Materials:
A strip of thin plastic, a piece of stiff card, a
cardboard tube, a strip of paper, a pencil, scissors a
rubber band, sticky tape.
Method:
1) Use the tube to draw a circle on the piece of paper.
2) Cut out the circle.
3) Make a hole in the center of the circle with the
pencil.
4) Tape the circle firmly to one end of the tube.
5) Fold the plastic over the other end of the tube, and
secure it with the rubber band.
6) Fold the paper strip and tape one end to a flat
surface so that the other end sticks up.
7) Hold the tube so that the hole points at the top of
the paper strip.
Sharply tap the other end of the tube.
Results:
What Happens?
Conclusions:
Why do you think this is happening?
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment:
To examine how the ear detects the arrival of sound.
Materials: a rubber band, rice grains, a plastic bowl,
scissors, a saucepan, a large spoon, a piece of plastic,
sticky tape
Method:
Cut the piece of plastic so that it is bigger than the
top of the bowl.
Stretch the plastic tightly over the bowl and secure it
with a rubber band.
Tape the plastic down to keep it stretched. This is
your drum.
Sprinkle a few grains of rice on top of the drum.
Hold the saucepan near the drum and hit it sharply
with the spoon.
Results:
The grains of rice jump up and down!
Conclusions:
Why do you think this is happening?
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To make soft sounds loud.
Materials:
Plastic tubing, scissors, sticky tape, a funnel
Method:
What you have to doPut the funnel into the plastic tube and secure it with
tape.
Put the funnel against a friend’s chest and hold the end
of the tube to your ear.
Results:
What happens?
Conclusions:
Why do you think this is happening?
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: How to bounce sound
Materials:
Two pieces of tracing paper, a plate, a cork, a number
of books, a ticking watch, two cardboard tubes, a
friend
Method:
Build two piles of books, they must be the same height.
Carefully lay the tubes on the books as shown above.
Hold the watch to your ear.
Listen carefully to make sure you can hear it ticking.
Put the watch just inside the end of one tube.
Listen at the end of the other tube. Can you hear the
watch?
Ask a friend to hold the plate near the far ends of the
tubes. Can you hear the watch?
Now ask your friend to replace the plate with the cork.
Can you hear the watch?
Results:
What happens?
Conclusions:
Why do you think this is happening?
What happens when you place cotton wool into the
tubes?
Why?
More things to try:
Wood,
Cotton Wool
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To examine how sound can travel through
objects.
Materials: two pieces of tracing paper, a pencil,
sellotape, string, two rubber bands, two paper clips,
two cardboard tubes
Method:
Fold a piece of tracing paper over one end of each
tube.
Fix it with a rubber band.
Pull the paper tight and tape it to the tubes.
Thread the string through both holes.
Tie a paperclip to each end to stop the string slipping
back through.
Use the tubes as a simple telephone.
Hold one tube to your ear and listen while your friend
speaks softly into the other tube.
Results:
What happens?
Conclusions:
Why do you think this is happening?
What happens when you place cotton wool into the
tubes?
Why?
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
A Megaphone
Experiment: to create a megaphone and discover
how we can make our voices louder and how we can
hear more.
Materials: Sellotape, scissors, a large sheet of paper.
Method:
Roll the paper into a cone.
Stick tape along the edge of the rolled paper to secure
it.
Put the cone over your mouth and talk into it.
Put the cone to your ear.
Results:
What happens when you put the cone to your ear?
What happens when you put the cone to your mouth
and speak?
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To create some strange sounds with
everyday materials.
Materials: a drinking straw, a strip of plastic, scissors,
a balloon.
Method:
1) Hold the strip of plastic tightly between your
thumbs and the heels of your hands.
Blow hard across the strip.
2) Press one end of the straw flat.
Cut the sides to form a point.
Put the pointed end of the straw in your mouth and
blow hard.
3) Pump up the balloon.
Hold the neck to stop the air escaping.
Grip the neck of the balloon and stretch it.
What happens as the air escapes?
Results:
You can make some very strange sounds.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To examine sound vibrations!
Materials: a friend, a balloon.
Method:
Blow up the balloon.
Hold it against your ear.
Ask your partner to press their lips against the balloon
and speak.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 but this time you should speak
and your friend should listen.
Results:
You can hear the vibrations through the balloon and
you can feel them.
You can feel your own voice through your lips as the
balloon’s skin vibrates against them.
Conclusions:
Sound is created when an object moves and the air
around it vibrates creating sound waves
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To investigate how the larynx or voice
box vibrates as we speak.
Materials: nothing
Method: Place your hand firmly mid way on your
throat. Say ‘aghhhh!’ for as long as you can.
Results: You can feel your throat vibrating!
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: To investigate through which solid, sound
travels best
Materials: a friend, a ticking watch, different types
of solids about the same thickness such as wood, glass,
concrete, plastic, paper, a piece of paper and a pen to
record your results.
Method:
Partner 1 and 2 should stand either side of the solid
e.g. a glass window.
Partner 1 should hold the ticking watch against the
solid.
Partner 2 should then press their ear against the solid
on the other side and listen to the intensity of the
sound of the ‘tick tock’ from the clock.
Repeat these steps using different solids and then
record through which solid the ‘tick tock’ sound was
loudest.In other words which solid let the ‘tick tock’
sound travel through best.
Bright ideas!
Make up a scale (1-4) of sound intensities, to help you
record your results!
Very soft.
Soft.
Loud.
Very Loud.
Then record your results on a table
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: An experiment to investigate whether
sound travels better through a solid or a gas.
Materials: a friend, a table, a piece of paper and a pen
to record your results.
Method:
Sit opposite your friend.
Knock on the table. Listen to how loud the sound is.
Ask your friend to place their ear against the surface
of the table.
Knock on the table again.
Ask your friend to describe how loud the sound is
through the table.
Results:
When you listen to the knocking sound through the
table, it is much louder.
Conclusions:
Sound travels better through a solid (table), than
through a gas (air).
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Experiment: to investigate whether sound travels
better through a solid or a gas.
Materials: two 30 cm pieces of thread, a metal
clothes hanger, a piece of paper and a pen to record
your results.
Method:
Tie one piece of thread to each end of the hanger.
Hold the hanger upside down by the ends of the pieces
of string.
Bang the hanger against a table.
Listen to how loud the sound is!
Now repeat steps one and two but this time put your
fingers in your ears while holding the strings.
Bang the hanger against a table.
Listen to how loud the sound is!
Results:
When your fingers are in your ears the sound is much
louder.
Conclusions:
Sound travels better through a solid (string), than
through a gas (air).
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Sound: A Domino Effect
Purpose: This investigation will determine whether the
speed of sound is affected as it travels through a
solid, liquid, or gas.
(In this experiment, think of the dominoes as
molecules that make up a solid, liquid, or gas. Sound
travels in waves or moving molecules.)
Materials
 box of dominoes
 smooth surface
 ruler or yardstick
 stopwatch or a watch with a second hand
Procedure
Line up dominoes approximately 2 cm apart, stretched
out over a 100-cm length.
Measure the time it takes for all the dominoes to fall.
Be sure to start the timer just as you knock over the
first and stop it just as the last domino hits the
surface.
Record the amount of time it took for all the dominoes
to fall.
Line up the dominoes again, this time 4 cm apart,
stretched over a 100-cm length.
Predict the amount of time it will take the dominoes to
fall and record your prediction.
Measure the time it takes for all the dominoes to fall.
Be sure to start the timer just as you knock over the
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
first and stop it just as the last domino hits the
surface.
Record the amount of time it took for all dominoes to
fall. How close was your prediction to the actual time?
Set up both lines of dominoes so that they each
stretch to 100 cm, but one line should be placed 2 cm
apart and the other line 4 cm apart. Lines should be
parallel to each other.
Knock the first domino of each line over at the same
time. What do you notice?
Answer the following questions:
Which dominoes traveled faster, the ones 2 cm or
the ones 4 cm apart?
Think of dominoes as molecules. Which line of
dominoes (molecules) represented a solid (2 cm or
4 cm)? Which line represented a liquid (2 cm or 4
cm)? Think about the three states of matter: How
do the molecules behave in a solid, liquid, and gas?
How would you explain the results of your findings
to someone else by using these words: chain
reaction, wave, solid, liquid, and traveling
How far apart would you place the dominoes if you
wanted to investigate a wave moving through gas
(like air)? (Base this decision on the two
measurements already given.)
Predict the amount of time (another hypothesis!)
it would take for the dominoes representing gas
to fall through a 100-cm line.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
What's Happening?
Matter consists of tiny particles called molecules, and
these molecules are always moving around and bumping
into each other. They react as the dominoes did when
the first one fell into the second. Sound energy in the
form of vibration is transferred from one molecule to
another. Energy is transferred from one domino to
another as they fall to the table. In the first activity,
the dominoes are placed closer together, and the sound
travels faster through the particles, much as in a solid
(molecules are close together). In the second activity,
the dominoes are placed farther apart and the sound
travels slower through the particles, much as they do
in a liquid (molecules are farther apart than in a solid).
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
To make a Reed Instrument.
Materials: a cardboard tube, a drinking straw, tracing
paper, a pencil, scissors, sellotape.
Method:
1)Press one end of the straw flat. Cut the sides to
make a point.
2) Fold the tracing paper over one end of the tube and
secure it with sticky tape.
3) Using the pencil, make a small hole in the centre of
the tracing paper.
4) Carefully push the round end of the straw through
the hole.
5) With the pencil make six holes along the length of
the tube.
Cover the holes with your fingers on and off the holes,
you can change the pitch of the note.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Seeing Sound: This activity lets you see sound
vibrations and explains that sound waves move through
the air.
Materials
orange juice or soup can with both ends removed
balloons, white wall or white construction paper,
scissors, rubber bands, masking tape, glue, tiny pieces
of mirror (about 1/2 cm square), a flashlight
Procedure
Cut the neck off a balloon and stretch the balloon over
one end of the can. Make sure the balloon is stretched
flat. Pull two rubber bands over the balloon to hold the
balloon in place. Tape the edge of the balloon to the
can with masking tape for extra support.
Carefully apply glue to the back of the mirror and
place the mirror in the center of the stretched
balloon. Hold the mirror in place for about 30 seconds
and wait a few minutes for it to dry.
Tape the top of a piece of white construction paper to
a wall. If a white wall is available, use the white wall
space instead of the construction paper.
After the mirror is firmly stuck to the can, lay the can
on a table or sturdy surface with the balloon facing
the wall.
Shine the flashlight onto the mirror at a 45-degree
angle so that you can see a bright spot from the mirror
reflected on the wall.
Knockconan NS 2012
Experiments - Sound and Communication -for the RDS Primary Science Fair
Have someone shout into the open end of the can and
watch the spot on the wall. Make certain not to touch
the can or table so that the vibration you see is just
the one from the sound shouted into the can!
What's Happening?
As the sound is moving through the air (or medium),
the sound vibrations transfer to the walls of the can
and the balloon at the end. These vibrations cause the
mirror to move and enable you to see sound!